Tablets used by millions to clean their false teeth killed a Tyneside pensioner, an inquest heard.

James Cross, 83, died after swallowing a Steradent tablet he probably mistakenly thought was a sweet.

Now nursing homes across Britain have been warned of the danger. Mr. Cross, a former seaman and shipyard worker, was taken to hospital in April after swallowing the tablet.

It is believed Mr Cross, a resident at the Garden Lodge home in Walker, Newcastle, had taken it from another bedroom.

Carol May, senior care worker, told Newcastle Coroner's Court she found him in a corridor after taking the pill which he may have thought were sweets.

She said: "He was having bother getting words out. I said I would get him a drink of water. I thought maybe he had something stuck.

"It did not strike me straight off what it was. As soon as I gave him a drink it was quite frothy. That's when I knew he had a problem."

Mrs May called for help and went to Mr Cross's room where she found two more tablets.

The tablet inflamed his airways and damaged his lungs which led to his death in hospital 17 days later.

He was forgetful and may not have been able to understand warnings on the packet advising anyone who swallowed a tablet to seek medical attention.

But the inquest also heard the packet from which he took the pill did not have a warning that it was caustic. Staff at the home now keep toiletries belonging to residents deemed to be at risk in locked cabinets.

Coroner David Mitford said the home could not be blamed and recorded a verdict of misadventure.

He added: "If anything is to come from this, it is that people's awareness will be heightened."

A spokesman for Reckitt Benckiser, makers of Steradent, said: "The instructions are very clear that the product is for soaking dentures, that it must not be put in the mouth and what to do should that occur."